As of mid-2026, more than 700 million people in China were using generative artificial intelligence, while the technology’s penetration rate exceeded 50%. The data are contained in a report by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), ECNS reports.
AI for answers and work
The most common use of generative AI remains searching for answers to questions, cited by 76% of users. Another 47.8% use the technology to process images or videos, 37.6% to work with texts, and 32.5% for professional tasks, including preparing summaries, meeting minutes and presentations.
The number of users accessing general-purpose AI assistants and productivity tools grew by more than 100% over the year, the report said. At the same time, 38.7% of Chinese internet users bought smart devices online during the previous six months. Smart wearable devices were purchased by 20.2% of respondents, while 18.2% bought 3C digital products, including smartphones and tablets.
Use in industry and agriculture
China’s computing power for AI tasks reached 2,185 exaflops in June, up 177% from a year earlier. The country also created more than 120,000 high-quality datasets for developing models and AI applications.
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The technologies are used in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, energy, telecommunications, manufacturing and agriculture. As of June, AI had been introduced at more than 30% of industrial enterprises above the designated size. It is used at the stages of research, design, production, quality control, operation and maintenance.
Investments and humanoid robots
In the first half of 2026, 1,255 AI investment and financing deals were concluded in China. This represents 78% of the number of such deals in all of 2025. Their total value reached approximately 250.14 billion yuan, or $34.8 billion, equal to 182% of the figure for the entire previous year.
More than 400 humanoid robot products were available in China in the first half of 2026. According to the forecast cited in the report, their annual production will exceed 100,000 units.
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